A cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention

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Abstract

The effectiveness of a 20 session cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention was tested on seventh grade students (n = 1,311) from 10 suburban New York junior high schools. The prevention strategy attempted to reduce intrapersonal pressure to smoke, drink excessively, or use marijuana by fostering the development of general life skills as well as teaching students tactics for resisting direct interpersonal pressure to use these substances. Additionally, this study was designed to compare the relative effectiveness of this type of prevention program when implemented by either older peer leaders or regular classroom teachers. Results indicated that the prevention program had a significant impact on cigarette smoking, excessive drinking, and marijuana use when implemented by peer leaders. Furthermore, significant changes were also evident with respect to selected cognitive, attitudinal, and personality predisposing variables in a direction consistent with non-substance use. These results provide further support for the efficacy of a broad-spectrum smoking prevention strategy and tentative support for its applicability to the prevention of other forms of substance abuse.

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      Citation Excerpt :

      However, fewer youth who were nonsmokers at the time of the intervention had started smoking 18 months after treatment, compared with controls. The Life Skills Training Program was developed by Botvin and colleagues23–26 to provide a framework of prevention for SUDs for children and adolescents. The Life Skills Training curriculum is delivered by teachers and composed of 3 primary elements that teach drug resistance skills, personal self-management skills, and enhance general social functioning over the course of 15 sessions in the first year (third through sixth grades), with 10 additional booster sessions in the second year (sixth through eighth grades), and 5 sessions in the third year (ninth through twelfth grades).

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    This research was supported by a grant to the senior author from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA 02835).

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